The right-time web: Theorizing the kairologic of algorithmic media

Abstract

Facebook’s goal for their “News Feed is to show everyone the right content at the right time so they don’t miss the stories that are important to them.” In a mediated environment obsessed with real-time–of near instantaneous content production and delivery–the question of what constitutes right-time has curiously been overlooked. In this article, I argue that the notion of right-time presented in the above mission statement is reflective not just of Facebook’s algorithmic workings but also of a new temporal regime produced by an increasingly algorithmic media landscape. The article draws on social theory, media studies, and rhetoric, as well as a variety of empirical materials such as patent documents, media industry documents and public discourse to argue for the existence of an “Eigenzeit” of algorithmic media that hinges on the classic Greek notion of “kairos,” understood as an opportune time, timeliness, or indeed, “right-time.”